


It's Not Your Fault

by OhMyViolet



Series: Tanner & Toby [3]
Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, hand holding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:21:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24682216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OhMyViolet/pseuds/OhMyViolet
Summary: Toby feels guilty about what happened to Tanner in the shadow world.
Relationships: Decoy/Decoy
Series: Tanner & Toby [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1784545
Comments: 3
Kudos: 5





	It's Not Your Fault

**Author's Note:**

> Why is this becoming a series? And why am I adding more characters?
> 
> Tanner- Kinda confident dude.  
> Toby- Kinda shy dude.  
> Flynn- Sweet and kind dude.

Toby was ignoring him, and had been for a while. He wasn't sure why. Maybe he'd said something mean by accident, or made a joke that didn't make sense and he didn't like him anymore. That happened sometimes. It was like he couldn't control his own mouth. He glanced towards the other decoy who was sat on the opposite side of the circle they, and several other decoys had formed on the living room floor. They'd all noticed Elliott had come home in a bad mood, seeming a little down in the dumps. They'd convinced him to play cards with them, but the trickster retired to bed after beating them all in the first game. The group had decided to keep playing, since they didn't need to sleep. Tanner looked down at the cards in his hand. He probably wasn't going to do very well this time, so he ended up zoning out while the rest of the group played. Toby was in his line of sight when he came back to reality, and was showing his hand to Flynn, who was probably one of the nicest beings Tanner had ever met. He was always sweet and gentle, and it seemed like he was assisting Toby with his decision making, which didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the group.   
"Hey, you guys are cheating!"   
The pair looked towards the source of the complaint, and Tanner couldn't help but feel bad for the more timid decoy whose cheeks were burning a bright red, having been caught.   
"I...w-was just check-."   
"You're not supposed to show anyone your cards, dumbass. How do you _still_ not know how to play?"   
"Don't be so mean!" Flynn retaliated, though his tone was still soft and calm. "It's okay, Toby. We can be a team."   
"I don't think so. If he's too stupid to play then-."   
"Guys, stop. Leave him alone."   
Tanner noticed Toby's lip begin to tremble, and he abruptly stood up and walked out. Before he could stop himself, he was standing too, turning to face the rest of the circle.   
"You guys are assholes."   
He was followed by a chorus of childish " _oooohs_ " as he left the room, making him roll his eyes. 

He found him sniveling in the hallway, rubbing his hand along his cheeks.   
"Hey," he said quietly, noticing how the other decoy peered up at him as he approached, almost as if he was scared at the sight of him. "You okay?"   
Toby's face appeared to scrunch up more, and he pulled away when he reached out a hand to him.   
"Go away, Tanner."   
The usually more confident of the pair, folded his arms over his chest; hurt. He wasn't feeling very confident right now. What did he do wrong?   
"Why? I don't want to go."   
"I c-can't look at you," Toby cried, hurting him further. "Every time I...It t-takes me back to that...that...place."   
Tanner didn't understand what he was talking about, but his companion was obviously very upset about it.   
"It's okay, Tobes. Breath."   
The quivering decoy allowed his arm to be taken, while they settled themselves on the ground.   
"What place? Is it the arena?"   
Toby shook his head, wiping at his eyes to try and stop the rest of his tears from falling.   
"The...scary, shadowy place."   
"Oh,” Tanner nodded his head, in understanding.   
He wasn't the biggest fan of that place either; the flyers freaked him out. But he doesn't remember it being that bad. It was just a quick, in and out mission.   
"I guess it was a little scary."   
"A little?!"   
"Yeah, I mean...It was scary, but it gave us the opportunity to hang out and crack some jokes, right?"   
Toby watched Tanner shrug casually, and it almost made him shiver until something dawned on him; Tanner didn't remember what happened. His whole being seemed to flood with anxiety. How was he supposed to explain it?; How he let him down and messed everything up.   
"You don't...remember the...p-prowlers?"   
"How could I forget those guys?" the other decoy replied, with a quiet laugh. "Me and Elliott found some dead ones on the way in. They're pretty big puppies."   
"...No," Toby began, apprehensively. "The...the one th-that...got you."   
His companion turned to face him more directly, raising his eyebrows in interest.   
"Got me? Got me what? A present?"   
The timid decoy shook his head and looked down at his hands, feeling tears beginning to prick in his eyes again at the memory.   
"It...attacked you and it...b-bit you and it...it r-really hurt you and it was all my fault!"   
Tanner looked at him, confused.   
"Wh-what?"   
"It was my fault! I was meant to look and make sure it was safe but I...didn't look hard enough! And now you don't rem-remember and it's all my fault! Don't...don’t hate me. I know it was my fault."   
"I could never hate you," Tanner said, softly. "It...wasn't your fault. I was supposed to look too and...I guess I wasn't. I'm not hurt or anything. It's okay."   
The other decoy nodded, somewhat sadly.   
"Elliott shot it but...it was too late. I...held your hand before you...disappeared. I was so scared. I didn’t know what to do."   
Tanner felt something inside him flutter at that.   
"You did?"   
He watched his companion nod, and he felt himself heat up. Wow. This kind of sucks.   
"Damn," he began, with an awkward laugh. "It really sucks how I, uh, don't remember that."  
"Maybe it's a good thing," Toby replied, shuddering before continuing. "I wouldn't wanna remember...getting jumped on by a pr-prowler."  
"Not, err, because of that. Well, maybe because of that but also...I, uh, was kinda talking about...the other thing."   
The shy decoy looked at him confused, until Tanner gave him a knowing tilt of his head, causing him to blush profusely and look away.   
"S-sorry," Tanner said, also becoming embarrassed enough to look away. "That probably sounded really weird but...it...uh, would be kinda cool to remember what that felt like. Or n-not. I mean, it's probably not a big deal."   
He felt too mortified to look back. He felt like he'd really gone and put his foot in it, until he felt shaky fingers curl around his own and he turned to see Toby, rosy cheeked but with a hopeful look in his eye.   
"I th-think it...felt like this."   
Tanner bit down on his lip, trying to fight against the goofy smile that was trying to force its way onto his face as his gaze fell on their joined hands. He turned his little, to make things more comfortable, and when he looked back at Toby it seemed like he was trying to fight off a smile of his own, but was failing.   
"Is...th-that okay? M-maybe it doesn’t feel exactly the same as before but..."   
Tanner squeezed his hand a little tighter, gaining a tiny, adorable squeak from him.   
"It feels absolutely perfect." 

**Author's Note:**

> I still can't bring myself to care how the decoys are actually supposed to work and function.


End file.
